Cuckoo Marans--loud breed?

[thistlecreek]

I'm thinking about adding a couple of Cuckoo Marans to my flock and was wondering how loud they are (as well as any other negative traits they may have). My silver laced wyandotte is extremely loud and I'd prefer not to add any more that are like that.

Also, do they truly have nice dark chocolate eggs or are they just slightly darker than average? Looking to increase the colors in my egg carton (currently brown, green & white).

Finally, I currently order through murray mcmurray (because I live in Iowa), but I was wondering what some other good places to order from are. Ideally looking for started pullets or chicks over 4 weeks of age (so I can incorporate them into the flock before winter).

Thanks everyone!

 

[rfreedlund]

I have 5 Cuckoo Marans in my mixed flock from Cackle Hatchery. They still aren't laying yet at 17 1/2 weeks (though some others in my flock did just start laying) so I can't say anything about egg color yet. They seem to be slower maturing than many of my other birds as they still don't have much comb and wattle compared to the others.

They are no noisier than any of my other chickens, maybe even less so. Four of them, however, are the biggest birds in my flock. We have had a mild summer, but they seemed to suffer the most on the few 90 degree plus days that we had. They don't seem especially friendly or especially scared either.

They are part of the flock I chose to have and do mix in well with my others. At this point they are somewhat of an unremarkable chicken for me as they aren't especially pretty and don't stand out in any way, but I am still glad that I have them in my flock. However, unless their eggs are that much darker than my other chickens' eggs or a few of them decide to do some of my broody work, I am not sure if I would get many more in the future.

I would still say go for it, though, and get them if they are available to you. You never know which breed of chicken might appeal to you or work best for you until you get them. As for being loud, that is not my experience.

 

[annaleone27]

I have a cuckoo maran. She lays dark brown chocolate eggs that are super pretty and she lays them almost every day which is awesome. But she is super chatty and she's my only hen who went broody for like 6 weeks? So as long as your neighbors don't mind the noise and you're okay with a broody cycle (which she'll make up for with the great laying the rest of the year!) i say get one!

edit: not cure if all cuckoo marans are noisy, my Peggy could jsut be a weirdo